Anchorage Man Sentenced to 16 Years in Federal Prison for Attempted Sex Trafficking and Exploitation of Minors

Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that an Anchorage man has been sentenced to federal prison after he made arrangements with an undercover detective to meet with two fictional minors, whom he believed to be real, to engage in sexual activities.

Danny Ray Lowe, 50, of Anchorage, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Beistline, to serve 16 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime years of supervised release.  After a three-day trial in July 2018, a federal jury convicted Lowe of two counts of attempted sexual trafficking of a minor, and two counts of attempted enticement of a minor. 

According to court documents, Lowe promptly responded to an online advertisement placed by a detective working an undercover operation.  Over an approximate six-month period, Lowe corresponded with the detective using text messages to negotiate the time, place, and price to have sex with two fictional girls, aged 13 and 14.  On Sept. 12, 2017, Lowe arrived at the agreed-upon Anchorage motel, ready and willing to pay $150 for two hours of illegal sex with the two minors.  The investigation revealed that Lowe had also brought condoms and strawberry-flavored personal lubricant to the motel. 

When Lowe knocked on the motel room door, however, local and federal law enforcement officers arrested him.  Upon arrest, Lowe confessed his crimes to the detective and wrote an apology letter to the girls’ parents, as he did not yet know that the girls were fictional.  Lowe wrote that he was “very sorry for offering money to have sex with your” daughter. 

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Beistline explained that the purpose of the sentence imposed was to protect the community and deter others from paying to have sex with children.  At trial, Lowe testified that he was attempting to rescue the children, rather than trying to buy sex with them.  At today’s sentencing hearing, the Court found that Lowe had lied and knew, “deep down,” that he was guilty. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Anchorage Police Department (APD) conducted the joint investigation leading to the successful prosecution of this case.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonas M. Walker.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices nationwide and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.